Phonograph recorder and reproducer.



PATENTED JUNE 4, 1907.

E. L. AIKEN. PHONOGR-APH RECORDER AND REPRODUUBR. APPLICATION FILED FEB.5,1906.

w a a 7 mm MW K in Lil EDWARD'L. AIKEN, OF EAST ORANGE, NEW ERSEY, iiSSlGllGR TO NEW JERfEEY PATENT COMPANY, OF WEST ORANGE, NEW JERSEY, A CQRPO- RATION (31 NEW JERSEY.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed February 5,1906 Serial llc. 299383 To all who? it may concern.-

, Be it lniown that l, EDWARD L. AIKEN, a citizen of the United States, and a. resident of Orange, in the county of Esse cand State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful 1m rovements in Phonogrnphic Recorders eno Reproducers, of which the following is a description.

M invention relates to ihono ra re- J D corders and reproduccrs, and more particu- .larly to that type in which the recording or reproducing weight, i No. 430,273

rec

tylus is carried by e floating st disclosed in Edison Patent dated June 17, 1890. In the der or reproduccr of this type supported its forward end upon. a horirental uide r strei ht ed e the .arts bein D {3 I D so arranged that the stylus will assume enoperstivc position upon the surface of the record or blunt: when the body is properly placed in the carrier arm. The record or blank used with such an instrument is in the form of a hollow cylinder which is carried on is rotating mandrel and is of such diameter that the stylus will rest thereon and support the looting weight, as is well known. In using blanks of this character, where the record is only desired for use a short time, it the practice to shave the record by means of a suitable shoving knife thereby forming o si uootli cylindrical surface suitable for the formation of another record, so that the ole-nit may be used again end againi Each shaving operation, of course, reduces the radius of the blank n distance-which is equal at least to the depth of the record groove, and it has been customary to use in 7 this manner blanks, the radius of which vacutting stylus makes with the record surface at the point of cont-not will vary with (litterent positions of the weight. It is undesirable, however, that this angle should vary greatly because the cutting operation requires that the stylus be held at e definite angle with respect to the record surface in order to produce the best results, and this angle can not he varied much-without detracting fron'1,,the quality of the record.

Reproducing styluses ere also. frequently designed to operate only at or very close to a given angle, and ere usually held by a lever whose angle can not vary much.

My invention has for its object the production of iloeting weight recorder or reproducer in which the weight will have a large range of adjustment so as to be capable of operating upon blanks of Widely varying diameter snd'in which the arrangement of ports-will be such thnt the variation of the angle between. the stylus and the record surface at the point of contact will be a min.

1inum.'

With these ends in view, my invention consists in the features hereinafter described and claimed.

Reference is hereby mndeto the accompanying drawing in which Figures .1 and 2 are a side elevation and bottom plan View respectively of a phonogrn-phic recorder embodying my invention. Figs. 3 and i similar views oi" a phonographie reproducer. Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the positions assumed by the stylus when operating upon blanks of different diameters.

Like parts are designated by the same reference numerals in the several views.

Referring to i and 2, the recorder shown comprises the usual circular body 1 adapted to be secured in the carrier arm of e phonograph. Depending from the body 1 is an arin plate 2 the lower end of which is provided with e pivot pin 3. The. weight l which carries the'diephragmo is provided Patented June 4,1907, I I

with downwardly extendingears 6 which.

may be integrel therewith or formed in u one of which is indicated by dotted lines in the drawing. Secured to the upper surface of the weight 4 is 'an arm 8 which passes through an opening in the body 1 and is bent over as shown at 9 to form a stop forv limiting the downward movement of said weight. This weight is provided with the usual rounded bearing 10 which receives the weight when the stylus is operating upon ablank of medium thickness, as illustrated in Fig. 5. In this view the line a represents the surface ofthe blank which is being operated upon, while the dotted line b repre- 'sents a blank of greater diameter and the line .0 one of less diameter.

It will beobserved that the axis of the pivot pin 3 is situated in a plane which is tangent to the surface of the blank a at the paint of contact of the cutting stylus, and that as the weight turns on said axis so as to bring the stylus into operative position upon the blanks b and c the cutting edge otthe stylus moves along the are d. Since the center 01" this arc lies between planes tangent to the surfaces '1) and c at the points to be operated upon, the angle made by the cutting stylus uponsaid blanks will be more nearly uniform than if said. axis were either above the plan tangent to the blank I) or below the blank tangent to the blank 0', in other words, its variation. is a minimum.

The reproducerillustrated in Fi s. 3 and4 comprises a body 14 adaptedto e secured in the carrier arm of the phonograph and provided with a diaphragm supported in the usual manner. The plate 15 depends from said body and carries a pivot pin 16 upon which are journaled depending ears -17 of the pivot plate 18. A weight 19 is provided with a vertical pin which passes through an opening in the plate 18 whereby the parts 18 and 19 are pivotally secured together, and the weight 19 is'capable of universal movement on horizontal and vertical axes. A pin 20 rejects from the forward end of the weiglit into a loop 21 depending from the body 14 and thereby limits the vertical movement of the weight 19 in a downward direction. The reprotucing sty'- lus 22 is carried by the usual lever 23 which is pivoted at'25 to the wei ht 19 and is connected-at one end tothe diaphragm by the link 24. The various parts are so proportionedthatwhen the'stylus is o crating upon a blank of medium diameter the axis of the pin16 will occupy a plane tangent to the surface of the blank at the point of contact of the stylus and hence Will be between planes tangent to blanks of maximum and minimum diameter.

Having 'now described my invention, what Iclaim as new and desire to secure by 'Letters Patent isasfdlltiiifSlz 1;;1111 5 device of the character described, the combination of a body, a weight pivoted thereto on a horizontal axis, and a stylus carried by said Weight, said axis lying between planes tangential to the record surface at the points of contact of the stylus in its extreme o erative positions, sulistantially as set fortii. I i Y 2. In a device of the character described, the combination of a body, a weight pivoted carried by said weight, said. horizontal axis lying in aplane tangential to the record sur- /face at the point of, contact of the stylus when occupying a medial position, substantially as set forth. e 3. In a device of the character described, the combination of a body, a late or disk pivoted thereto on a horizonta axis and a stylus carried by said plate, the said horizontal axis being below the plane of the weight when the latter is in its highest operative position, substantially as set forth.

4. In a device of the character described, the combination of a body and a stylus carrying plate or disk pivoted thereto on a horizontal axis situated below theplane of the Weight, substantially as set forth.

5. In a device of the character described,

pivoted to said body on a horizontal axis situated below the plane of the pivot plate, a weight pivoted to said pivot plate on a vertical axis and a stylus carried by said weight, substantially as set forth.

6. In a devicefof the character described, the combination of a body, adiaphragm carried thereby, a pivot plate pivoted to said body on a horizontal axis situated bepivoted to said pivot plate on a vertical axis, a stylus lever pivoted to said weight and connected to said diaphragm and a stylus carried by said lever, substantially as set forth.

This specification signed and witnessed this 2nd day of February 1906.

EDWARD L. AIKEN. -VVitnesses:

DELos- HOLDEN,

FRANK I). Lnwrs.

thereto on a horizontal-axis and a stylus the combination of a body, a pivot plate low the .plane {of the pivot plate, a weight 

